Letter warns 13 dispensaries to cease all activities with medical marijuana, or be referred to RCMP

The Saskatchewan Compassion Club is one of 13 medical marijuana dispensaries across Canada that has received an e-mailed warning from Health Canada.

It's a very curious and, many have called it, a bizarre letter.- Mark Hauk

The letter warns the dispensary to cease all activities with medical marijuana in the next 30 days, and says if it does not comply, Health Canada will refer the case to the RCMP.

"It's a very curious and, many have called it, a bizarre letter," said Saskatchewan Compassion Club founder Mark Hauk. "It referenced advertising but it also referenced the sale of medical cannabis and it basically [ordered] our club to stop advertising."

When Hauk received the e-mail on Wednesday, he questioned its authenticity. He described it as 'carelessly written' and containing no official signature. He says the letter threatens prosecution under Canada's Food and Drugs Act with a $5 million fine and up to two years in jail. Despite that, Hauk said the club isn't changing the way it does business.

"We don't participate in any advertising as it is. We always knew that we've operated outside of the regulations as they were. A letter stating that doesn't really change [anything]," he said.